Trapido, Barbara. Brother of the More Famous Jack. Viking Press, 1982.
Reason read: Nothing is more annoying that not remembering why I chose a book to read within a certain month. Since I cannot remember the original reason I am just going to say I chose it for Valentine’s Day since one of the themes is finding the right relationship.
It all starts when John Millet takes Katherine to meet friends of his, the Goldman family. Only Katherine knows the mister of the family, Jake Goldman. He is her philosophy professor, but Katherine is meeting his family for the first time. If you can get over the misogynistic overtones of Brother of the More Famous Jack you will fall in love with some of Trapido’s characters. I loved Jane. Here is what I mean about the subtle disparagement of women: when Jacob complained that his wife, Jane, does not do enough around the house it set my teeth to grinding after Jane felt she needed to point out that she has brought the group tea, and has made them lunch, in addition to gardening and making music. Trapido says this of Jake, “He gains strength from the myth of his wife’s incompetence” (p 25). Katherine dates a man who didn’t like women when they turned into mothers. Mostly, I tried not to be too offended by the light banter about rape and abortion.
All in all, I wasn’t sure I liked Katherine. She is very unlucky in love and has this air of helplessness that bothered me throughout the entire book. She pines for a Goldman son even though it is apparent he never feels the same way. For six years she dates a married man who is ugly to her. This man left his previous wife because he lost respect for her when she became pregnant with his child. When Katherine finally escapes this relationship she runs straight back to the Goldman family. Why does she keep returning to these people? Because she has fallen in love with the entire family. Even after ten years away from them she finds herself ensconced in their lives.
Lines I liked, “Being in love and unable to acknowledge it, they were fond of generalizing about love” (p 92) and “…your brother dismantled my character” (p 161).
As an aside, I could relate to Katherine when she admitted she was afraid to ride a bicycle after breaking her arm riding one when she was nine years old. Sometimes, childhood trauma stays with a person for a very long time.
Author fact: Even though Trapido has written other books, Brother of the More Famous Jack is the only one I am reading.
Book trivia: In case you were wondering, William Butler Yeats is the borhter of the most famous Jack.
Playlist: Abba, George Formby, Haydn, “The Harmonious Chime”, John Dowland, Monteverdi, Mozart, “O Worship the King”, Schubert, Scarlatti, Suite Italienne, “Tom, Tom, the Piper’s Son”, and “Yellow Submarine”.
Nancy said: Here is the interesting thing about what Pearl said, not specifically about Brother of the More Famous Jack, but about the chapter called “Friend Makers.” If you like any of the books in this chapter Pearl sees you as a friend.
BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Friend Makers” (p 95).
~*LunaSea*~ 